This invention relates, generally, to a housing for leadless integrated circuit devices and more particularly to a housing for a leadless integrated circuit device having a portion which is removeable therefrom so as to allow individual replacement of contacts contained therein.
With the advent of VLSI circuitry, leadless integrated circuit devices in the form of chip carriers and chip carrier housings are being utilized more and more frequently. These types of applications require high density contact spacing while maintaining optimum contact mating forces which minimize resistive, capacitive and inductive effects. Examples of high density contact structures may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,102 "Low Impedance Electrical Connecting Means For Spaced-Apart Conductors" issued May 19, 1981 to Grabbe; U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,118 "Contact Carrying Spring Member" issued Oct. 4, 1977 to Scheingold et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,786 "Device For Connecting Leadless Integrated Circuit Package To A Printed Circuit Board" issued Feb. 24, 1976 to Scheingold et al.
Consequently these types of devices are relatively complicated by their nature in that chip carrier packages are expensive and generally are in a situation where reliability is an important factor, thereby requiring that the contacts and housings associated therewith be reliable. Heretofore however when a problem has occurred with a contact, either due to environmental or external problems such as, misapplication of a chip carrier package to the housing, removal of the entire housing was required so as to facilitate disassembly and replacement of particular contacts. This extraction and reinsertion process in and of itself may create problems which are undesirable in that subsequent soldering may result in cold soldering joints or undesirable contact deformation.
It is desirable to have a device which allows for individual contact removal and/or replacement without disturbing the remaining contacts in the structure or housing. Further, it is desirable to have a housing which facilitates such removal and/or replacement in a relatively simple manner, with the housing relatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble and which is capable of integration with a variety of differing housing structures. Such a device is taught by the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention teaches and as an object of the present invention, a chip carrier housing for connecting a leadless integrated circuit chip carrier to a circuit board comprising a circuit board having conductive strips contained thereon, and a chip carrier housing disposably disposed on this circuit board with the housing having a continuous interior or inner wall and at least one removably removable exterior or outer wall, the interior and exterior walls each having contact spacing barriers disposed perpendicularly thereto, thereby defining a plurality of slots for receivably receiving electrically conductive contacts, and electrically conductive contacts disposed in each of the slots for providing electrical communication between a leadless integrated circuit chip carrier and electrical conductors contained on the circuit board, a leadless integrated circuit chip carrier disposed on the housing and a chip carrier retaining bracket disposed on top of the housing and the leadless integrated circuit chip carrier for securing the integrated circuit chip carrier to the housing and thence the electrical contact.